The present invention relates to method and apparatus for arranging payment for communication services. More particularly, the present invention relates to method and apparatus for automatically selecting a payment source from a plurality of alternative sources while significantly reducing and/or eliminating further input from the user in the performance of the selection operation.
The present invention, although extremely useful in communications systems comprised of cellular telephones, may also be used with a variety of diverse electronic devices such as portable computers, portable data assistants (PDAs), internet appliances and, in general, any electronic device for which a communications link must be established with another device or service through a link not normally utilized and/or requiring payment for use thereof.
Although one of the principal applications employs radio frequency (RF) links between the device requesting service and another device for service, it should be noted, as will be described hereinbelow in further detail, that the communications link requiring payment need not necessarily be the link from the device to some access point.
The area of application of the present invention resides in the handling of payment for communication services on-line and automatically and in real time.
One typical communications link is that in which cellular phone subscribers employ a link operated by a particular provider for establishing communications between a calling user and a called user. A variety of different techniques may be employed for paying the service provider for the communications link.
For example: The user of the cellular telephone (or other device) may have a service contract with the service provider. The cost of the link established at the calling user""s request is handled by the service provider providing service to the calling user. The cost for the communications link requested by the user is directly assumed by the service provider based on the terms of the contract. The service provider may be entitled to all of the total cost of the service in the example where the calling subscriber is operating in the home cell where the user is based. Alternatively, the total cost of the communications link may be shared by the home cell as well as a remote cell when the calling subscriber is roaming in a remote cell and the requested communications link requires the services of both the remote cell and the subscribers home cell in order to establish the link. In such case the subscriber""s service provider may collect the entire fee from the subscriber and share the cost of the communications link with the remote cell.
The service contract may either take the form of a fixed fee for the given amount of services or wherein a portion of the fee is deducted for each service requested or alternatively the service contract may call for a fee which varies depending upon the total amount of service for a given period, (i.e., monthly) for which services the subscriber is billed on a regular basis.
Payment for the communications link may be handled through an electronic wallet wherein monetary information is maintained within the electronic device, one such device being described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,838. Briefly, the electronic wallet contains a memory for storing information related to the subscriber such as account number, PIN number, identity of the service provider (e.g., credit card company, communications services provider, etc.) and information for automatically communicating with the service provider to enable the user to engage in a transaction. The cost of the requested service may either be deducted from the subscriber""s debit card or alternatively may be billed against the subscribers credit card. A communications service may be billed to a subscribers charge card or debit card held by the subscriber and offered as a mode of payment for the service by manually inputting the user""s account information via keypad or magnetic reader attached the electronic device (i.e., telephone) or provided orally to the financial institution sponsoring the debit or credit card service. In the case of a debit card, the cost of the service is deducted from the present balance. In the case of a credit card, the customer is billed for the cost of the service off-line and subsequent to the service being provided. The sponsor of the debit or credit card is responsible for paying those service providers engaged in providing the communications link, which may be a single service provider in the case where the calling and called parties are both within the same home cell, or to one or more service providers wherein one or both of the calling and called parties are in a roaming mode necessitating the use of a service provider in addition to the subscriber""s base cell.
Another payment procedure quite frequently used to establish a communication link between two telephone or cell phone users is to reverse charges, (i.e., the calling party requesting a communications link with a called party and further requesting the service provider to ask the called party to honor the cost for the communications link).
Some service providers, such as telephone companies, may offer a service upon contacting an 800 telephone number exchange whereby the cost for a communications link may be billed to the customer off-line.
In still another service paying technique a user may agree to receive advertisements in exchange for communication services, the cost of the communications link being absorbed by the advertiser(s).
Although it can be seen that a variety of different techniques are available to pay for communication services, a significant drawback of present day techniques resides in the fact that all of the various modes and types of payment exist in isolation and are independent of one another. As an example, assuming that one method or mode of payment is unavailable, for whatever reason, the user requesting the service must actively become engaged in an effort to select an alternative mode of payment. For example, assuming that a subscriber to a cellular telephone network attempts to place a call and the service request is denied for whatever reason, the subscriber attempting to request a communications link must personally initiate and engage in an activity to notify the communications network of the alternative mode of payment.
A more detailed example of the shortcomings of the prior art can be better understood from a consideration of FIG. 1, which shows a communications network of the global system for mobile communications (GSM) type wherein a subscriber is provided with a cellular telephone 12 capable of receiving a subscriber identity module (SIM) card 14. The subscriber holds a service contract with service provider 20. The subscriber assigned the cellular telephone 12 is roaming in a visited public land mobile network (PLMN) 16 which is remote from the subscribers home PLMN 18. The cost for the call is attended to in accordance with the terms of the service contract whereby the subscriber, in seeking to communicate with a called subscriber (not shown), initiates a call causing the payment provider information on the SIM card 14 to be passed to the visited PLMN 16, as shown by step S1. This SIM information is used to access the home PLMN, at step S2. The home PLMN 18, at step S3, makes an inquiry as to the account status of the service contract for the mobile unit 12.
In the case where that the service provider 20 finds that the billing is authorized, authorization is conveyed through home PLMN 18, at step S4. This is conveyed to the visited PLMN at step S5. The call is established between mobile device 12 and the called party (not shown) which may be another mobile phone assigned to a particular PLMN which is the same as or different from the PLMN of the calling mobile phone or may be a phone in a public switch telephone network (PSTN).
The call is now established as shown by step S6. When the call is completed, the charging information and invoice is forwarded, at step S7, through the home PLMN 18 which electronically transmits a bill, at step S8, to the service provider 20.
The example set forth hereinabove is one in which the activities have been completed in a case where the service provider has authorized the service. However, if the service provider denies billing for the call, for example, in the event that the calling party has exceeded the contract limits or if the service provider can not be reached, regardless of the reason, then the primary and exclusive method of payment has failed. Existing technology has the capability of prompting the calling party to enter a charge card number if the calling party wishes to place the call in spite of the fact that the primary method for payment has failed. This technique imposes a delay in placing the call as well as the need to manually enter alternate payment information. It also unnecessarily ties up the communications link between the calling mobile phone and the contacted members of the communications system.
Although the primary method for payment, in the example given, is by way of a service contract the user of the mobile unit has with the service provider, it should be understood that the primary payment means maybe any one of the other payment techniques set forth here and above. Nevertheless, the user seeking the communications service must rely upon one of the other alternatives if the primary means of payment fails or may not be able to complete the call in the event that the other alternatives are either unavailable or non-existent.
The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing for the automatic selection of one of two or more payment means and/or payment providers which are associated with the user and/or the user device. When a call is made, a primary or preferred payment means is accessed. In the event that they primary means fails, for whatever reason, the technique of the present invention automatically invokes the next available payment alternative. If this technique also fails and there is still another payment alternative, the system of the present invention will proceed to try that alternative as well. The automatic selection of each successive payment alternative eliminates the undue delay imposed by prior art techniques which require a prompt to the user requesting that the user enter additional information, thereby significantly increasing the likelihood of completing a call as compared with present day techniques, as well as reducing the amount of time the calling party is using the communications link before a call is established.
The present invention also permits an operator of a roaming network to strike an arrangement with more than one home network while allowing spontaneous connections with third parties. This technique can be utilized in cases where a customer does not subscriber to any specific service or caller party arrangement.